[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28095-28097]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12773]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Revision of Information Collection Request Submitted for 
Public Comment; Draft Model Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitations Form

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95), provides the general 
public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed 
and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department 
assess the impact of its information collection requirements and 
minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps the public 
understand the Department's information collection requirements and 
provide the requested data in the desired format. Currently, the 
Employee Benefits Security Administration is soliciting comments on a 
revision of the Notices under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction 
Equity Act of 2008 information collection request (ICR) to add a model 
form participants and authorized representatives can use to request 
certain information from their health plans that is discussed below.
    A copy of the information collection request (ICR) may be obtained 
by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice. The ICR is also available on the Department's Web site at: 
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
Addresses section on or before September 1, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments regarding the information 
collection request and burden estimates to the Office of Policy and 
Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-5718, Washington, DC 20210. 
Telephone:

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(202) 693-8410; Fax: (202) 219-4745. These are not toll-free numbers. 
Comments may also be submitted electronically to the following Internet 
email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and 
Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) was enacted on October 3, 2008 
and amended by the Affordable Care Act and the 21st Century Cures Act 
(Cures Act). Generally, MHPAEA requires that the financial requirements 
and treatment limitations imposed on mental health and substance use 
disorder (MH/SUD) benefits cannot be more restrictive than the 
predominant financial requirements and treatment limitations that apply 
to substantially all medical and surgical benefits. As discussed below, 
MHPAEA includes several disclosure requirements for group health plans 
and health insurance issuers.
    The Cures Act \1\ was enacted on December 13, 2016. Among its 
requirements, the Cures Act contains provisions that are intended to 
improve compliance with MHPAEA by requiring the Departments to solicit 
feedback from the public on how to improve the process for group health 
plans and issuers to disclose the information required under MHPAEA and 
other laws.
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    \1\ Public Law 114-255.
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    The statutory MHPAEA provisions and implementing regulations 
expressly provide that a plan or issuer must disclose the criteria for 
medical necessity determinations with respect to MH/SUD benefits to any 
current or potential participant, beneficiary, or contracting provider 
upon request and must disclose the reason for any denial of 
reimbursement or payment for services with respect to MH/SUD benefits 
to the participant or beneficiary.
    On October 27, 2016, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and the Treasury (the Departments) issued Affordable Care Act 
Implementation FAQs Part 34, which, among other things, solicited 
feedback regarding disclosures with respect to MH/SUD benefits under 
MHPAEA and other laws. In the FAQs, the Departments indicated that they 
had received questions and suggestions regarding disclosures with 
respect to Nonquantitative Treatment Limitation (NQTLs) applicable to 
medical/surgical and MH/SUD benefits under the plan. The feedback also 
included requests from various stakeholders for model forms that group 
health plan participants, beneficiaries, covered individuals in the 
individual market, or persons acting on their behalf could use to 
request relevant disclosures. Stakeholders also requested guidance on 
other ways in which disclosures, or the process for requesting 
disclosures, could be more uniform, streamlined, or otherwise 
simplified.
    In addition, the Departments indicated that they had received 
requests to explore ways to encourage uniformity among State reviews of 
health insurance issuers' compliance with the NQTL standards. Various 
stakeholders stated that model forms to report NQTL information will 
help facilitate uniform implementation and enforcement of MHPAEA, and 
relieve some complexity that MHPAEA compliance poses for issuers 
operating in multiple States. Furthermore, other stakeholders 
highlighted that the use of such model forms may also benefit 
consumers, as consumers will be entitled to request the analysis 
performed to complete the model forms.
    The Cures Act requires the Departments, by June 13, 2017, to 
solicit feedback from the public on how the disclosure request process 
for documents containing information that health plans and health 
insurance issuers are required under Federal or State law to disclose 
to participants, beneficiaries, contracting providers or authorized 
representatives to ensure compliance with existing mental health parity 
and addiction equity requirements can be improved while continuing to 
ensure consumers' rights to access all information required by Federal 
or State law to be disclosed.\2\ The Cures Act requires the Departments 
to make this feedback publicly available by December 13, 2017.\3\
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    \2\ Cures Act section 13001(c)(1).
    \3\ Cures Act section 13001(c)(2). The Departments must also 
share this feedback with the National Association of Insurance 
Commissioners (NAIC) to the extent the feedback includes 
recommendations for the development of simplified information 
disclosure tools to provide consistent information to consumers. 
Such feedback may be taken into consideration by the NAIC and other 
appropriate entities for the voluntary development and voluntary use 
of common templates and other sample standardized forms to improve 
consumer access to plan information. See Cures Act section 
13001(c)(3).
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    The Departments recently issued Affordable Care Act Implementation 
FAQs Part 38, which again solicited comments on FAQs Part 34 as 
required by the Cures Act. The Departments also solicited comments on a 
draft model form that participants, enrollees, or their authorized 
representatives could use to request information from their health plan 
or issuer regarding NQTLs that may affect their MH/SUD benefits, or to 
obtain documentation after an adverse benefit determination involving 
MH/SUD benefits to support an appeal. The draft model form is an 
information collection subject to the PRA. The model from and 
instructions are available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa.

II. Current Actions

    This notice requests public comment on the draft model form 
discussed above. The Department notes that an agency may not conduct or 
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information 
collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. A summary of 
the ICR and the current burden estimates follows:
    Type of Review: Revised Collection.
    Agency: DOL-EBSA.
    Title: Notices under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity 
Act of 2008--Draft Model Non-Qualitative Treatment Limitations Form.
    OMB Numbers: 1210-0138.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--Not for profit organizations; 
businesses or other for profits.
    Total Respondents: 1,204,215 (combined with Treasury the total is 
2,404,430).
    Total Responses: 1,204,215 (combined with Treasury the total is 
2,404,430).
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 26,295 (combined with Treasury 
the total is 52,590 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: $3,424,759 (combined with 
Treasury the total is $6,849,519).

III. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Department of Labor (Department) is particularly interested in 
comments that:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or

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other forms of information technology, e.g., by permitting electronic 
submissions of responses.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the ICR for OMB approval of the revision of the 
information collection; they will also become a matter of public 
record.

    Dated: June 9, 2017.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-12773 Filed 6-19-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-29-P